COLUMBUS, Ind. — “There’s no place like home.”
Those words, famously uttered by Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz,” were also spoken by the now former Vice President Mike Pence as he returned to his hometown of Columbus Wednesday after attending the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
After the inauguration, Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff escorted the Pence and his wife Karen to a black Chevrolet Suburban SUV outside the U.S. Capitol. The couple then flew into Columbus Municipal Airport at about 2:50 p.m. Wednesday on an Air Force plane. They were welcomed by a crowd limited to about 50 guests that included local and state officials, as well as family members such as U.S. Representative Greg Pence, brother to the former vice president.
“Serving as your vice president was the greatest honor of our life, but now that that season of service has come to an end, we just had to come home,” Mike Pence said, as he stood on-stage beside his family, behind a sign on the credenza that said “Back Home Again.”
It is not clear if Pence plans to reside in Columbus after leaving office. However, he did say that he has promised Karen that they are moving back to Indiana come summertime.
After some initial remarks by Indiana GOP chairman Kyle Hupfer, Lt. Gov Suzanne Crouch, Congressman Greg Pence and Karen, the now former vice president spoke to his supporters. He expressed his gratitude to them and many others — including God, his friends, his family, the people of Indiana and his staff.
He also thanked Donald and Melania Trump “for all they have done to make America great again.”
“We’ll always be grateful for the opportunity that they gave us to serve and the way that they allowed us to make a difference in the life of this nation,” he said.
For more on this story, see Thursday’s Republic.
